We Are All Part Of A Great Whole

"None of us is as smart as all of us." 

~ Kenneth Blanchard

"Follow Your Bliss" ~ Original 10 x 8" Matted A.I. on Yupo

 It's been a hectic, (mostly good) two weeks since my last blog post here!

I'm going to recap in blog order from most recent to oldest news.

The painting above, was one of many done yesterday in alcohol inks

using my new toy  tool.

What fun it is to blow the inks around!

"Rendezvous" ~ Original 5 x 7" Matted A.I. on Yupo

The alcohol ink workshop here at the studio on July 9th was so much fun

and overall, I think speaking for everyone, a wonderful learning and sharing event.

The next scheduled Alcohol Ink Workshop here at Sandarosa Studio

will be on September 10th! Most of the artists said they're coming back.

 I had a scare with my mare, Santa Margarita. She got real sick early last week, had a fever and was not eating.  She was treated with IV antibiotics for Potomac Horse Fever and seems to be recovering from the ordeal. Yesterday was the first day all week she ventured out into her pasture to eat some grass. Thanks to everyone on facebook who sent out caring, healing thoughts and prayers.

Braveheart is such a joy and is integrating into the family nicely.

Here's Braveheart's very first portrait. He's definitely part of the family now!

(Braveheart - 12 weeks old) 10 x 8" dbl. matted and framed alcohol ink painting.

I hope your summer is going well.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Creating!

X ♥  O

Horse ~ Symbol of Independence and Power

"The wind of heaven is that

which blows between a horse's ears."

Horse Spirit ~ Graceful Strength Day 18 Freedom ~ Respect ~ Finesse  ~ Sensitivity 8.5 x 6.5" Hand Painted Watercolor on Yupo Paper Matted and Framed to 10" x 8"

Horse Spirit ~ Graceful Strength

Day 18

Freedom ~ Respect ~ Finesse  ~ Sensitivity

8.5 x 6.5" Hand Painted Watercolor on Yupo Paper

Matted and Framed to 10" x 8"

Painting Options

painting only $99.00 USD art matted w/ backing $105.00 USD art matted + Framed - Med. Wood $135.00 USD

People seemed to enjoy yesterday's progress shots, so here are some more of today's painting. I really can't believe I remembered to stop a couple of times and take pictures two days in a row! Wow, is this turning into a habit?

First Step - Paint the eyes.

Second Step - Put in light mid-tones.

Third Step - Put in darker mid-tones.

Fourth - Add the background wash.

Finally, the painting is refined and detailed

by taking pigment away with a damp brush

and adding a little darker mid-tone here and there.

Horse Spirit -  Full frame/ Uncropped

I tweaked this painting quite a bit and here is what it looks like now.

Before          After

Thanks so much for stopping by and for

your friendship, comments and feedback!

X ♥  O

Taking My Horse To See The Eye Doctor

Yesterday, I took my Paint horse, Rembrandt, aka, Rudy, up to the NJ Equine Clinic to have the Ophthalmologist look at his eye. He's had an issue with his left eye since April. Of course, Rita, my big WB/TB mare, had to go along for the ride. She acts like a lunatic when I lead him out of his stall, heaven forbid try to go away in the trailer without her! I'm afraid she'd kill herself if we were to leave without her. I was happy to get an appointment on a Monday so I could get help from my friend, Kathy Devereaux, on her day off from her job as a vet tech.

The horses and I hadn't trailered in about two years, since way before my broken ankle in April 2012, but everything went well. Rita behaved herself, (as long as Rembrandt wasn't taken out of her sight) ...

Our 19 yr. old Chevy Silverado pick-up truck ran well with new brakes, exhaust system and tires. My 21 year old Kiefer Built trailer could use a paint job, but is still solid from top to bottom, has four new tires and newly greased axils. All in all, with a little help from my hubby Jerry and dear friend Kathy, and two very cooperative ponies, the trip went pretty smooth and stress free.

It's hard for me to explain what's going on with Rudy's eye. There's a weakness or bulge in the inner eye membrane which is allowing fluid to leak into the outer membrane, causing a cataract looking band across the top and bottom of his eye. If left unchecked, it could cloud up the whole eye and his sight would be obstructed, like seeing through fog or frosted glass. It's not painful but it tears a lot. At present, we are continuing Rudy's current course of Doxycyline which has a good anti-inflamitory property for his eye, and is the only medication we've tried that has had any results. None of the many salves we've tried have had any affect at all. We're going to try adding in Timolol, glaucoma eye drops. Although his eye pressure was good and the doc said he doesn't have glaucoma, Timolol may help his situation. Right now the eye looks pretty good as he has been on the Doxy for a month. The plan is he will stay on it for another couple of months, gradually reducing the dosage and hoping for the best. My poor sweet boy. My poor pocketbook. Thanks for all your emails, facebook comments and well wishes! I just know they are helping.

Thanks again and Love,

X ♥  O

Rudy and Rita

Flea Bitten Grey Horse Portrait ~ SOLD ~

"The wind of heaven is that which blows
between a horse's ears."
~ Arabian Proverb

Flea Bitten Grey

SOLD

I started this painting yesterday morning and thought I had it finished by dinner time. Then I fussed around with it again today. It started out being a chestnut color Morgan but kept changing and evolving until it turned into this flea bitten (a horsey color term) grey Arabian. Go figure! I'm blaming it on the Yupo paper and on my inquisitive "what if?" attitude. More often than not lately, my paintings seem to have a mind of their own. I just try to go with the flow and give it what it needs and wants. Does that make any sense? Does it ever happen to you?

 I hope you are enjoying nice weather in your neck of the woods. I'll be going into Philadelphia tomorrow to meet with a couple of friends, do lunch and visit the art museum. I can almost feel the much needed cultural enrichment already! Thanks for coming by. Happy Spring to you and have a great weekend.

Hugs and Nickers,

and the horses

"In my opinion, a horse is the animal to have.

Eleven-hundred pounds of raw muscle,

power, grace, and sweat between your legs.

It's something you just can't get from a pet hamster."

~ Unknown

Gypsy Gold Neighs In The Dark ~ Sold

"Gypsy gold does not clink or glitter. 

It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark."

~ Irish Proverb

Gypsy Gold

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SOLD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Today's horse painting is the Yin, negative (black) female of yesterday's Yang, the positive (white) male. In these pieces, with expressive brushstrokes, I've tried to interpret the flow of chi within the equine's body. The Yin Yang symbol, with a dot of the other color in each, suggests that there is always a trace of the other present in any situation and nothing is ever entirely Yin or completely Yang. To me, this relates perfectly to living with and caring for horses and without a doubt, to the art of riding them.

"My horse's feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears."
~ Bonnie Lewis

A Lovely Horse Is An Emotional Experience ~ SOLD

"A lovely horse is always an experience.

It is an emotional experience of the kind

that is spoiled by words."

~ Beryl Markham

A Lovely Horse SOLD •

A Lovely Horse

SOLD •

Here's one of today's paintings for all you horse lovers out there. Horses were never just a phase for me. I share a bond with them that I will never outgrow. I bought my first horse over forty years ago when I was fourteen. My parents told me that if I saved enough money to buy my own horse, and payed for all its expenses, I could get one. At the time, I don't think they knew just how serious I was. I saved two years of babysitting money and bought my first large pony, a 14.1 hand Arab cross, Cocoa. Since then, my love and obsession for them has just continued to grow stronger. They are, always have been and probably always will be a big part of my life. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Follow my new "Horse Crazy" board on Pinterest.

You know I'll be adding more to it frequently!

Wishing you all something to be passionate about!

Hugs and Nickers,

& Rudy & Rita 

“What these horses do for us is incredible.

They become part of our family.

They really change our lives.

It is a sport we choose because we love it

and it is a sport we choose because

we also love the animal."

~ Eric Lamaze

Brave Little Survivor

"In wilderness, I sense the miracle of life

and behind it, our scientific accomplishments

fade to trivia."

~ Charles A. Lindbergh

Brave Little Survivor Rufous Hummingbird See more about this painting here.

Brave Little Survivor
Rufous Hummingbird
See more about this painting here.

Today's painting's reference photo was taken on March 26th at the Palmyra Cove Nature Center at the foot of the Tacony-Palmyra bridge on the Delaware River. There I witnessed a very rare occurrence - A young Rufous Hummingbird that wintered here in Southern NJ! She showed up at the nature center shortly after Superstorm Sandy and it was believed she may have been blown off course because of the storm. ( In the olden days, they weren't even seen east of the Mississippi.) I thought it was a hoax and had to go see for myself! So at the spur of the moment, I took a field trip over there. She hangs out around the center. I spent some time visiting and shooting her. What a ham! She is quite famous. She was very used to people and seemed to like my company. What fun! 

Yesterday I visited the nature center again, as I had an appointment with the gallery curator about having a solo show of my work there in April of 2014. After my meeting, I watched and waited, but was disappointed that I didn't see the little Rufous Hummingbird again. Perhaps she has moved on and will resume her 'normal' migration habits from here on in. I will keep her in my thoughts and wish her well on her arduous journeys.

The weather here has been totally crazy. It was almost 85 degrees here the past two days! Good thing my horse groomer came on Monday to give my wooly 33 yr. old horse, Rudy, a body clip! He's much cooler (in more ways than one) now. He looks and feels 20 years younger and it seems, just in the nick of time for summer!

Rembrandt, aka: Rudy - after his full body clip 4-8-13

In other news: On Saturday afternoon, I was enjoying a beautiful day here in the pines with my horses, Rita and  Rudy. They both got a grooming, lots of TLC and a ride. It was all really nice except for two old WWII biplanes that kept circling again and again directly overhead, zooming in really low. Amazingly, it bothered me more than the horses. The pilots had been at it for hours and it was really getting annoying. They fly real low, just above the tree line and those old things are so loud, everything seems to vibrate.

Come to find out later, the forest service was doing some controlled burning nearby and it got out of control! By the end of my second ride, a thick layer of smoke had settled over everything. Fortunately they finally managed to get it under control, but there was a short period of pre-panic when we realized that there was a possibility that we may have to evacuate. Geez, I really felt like a heel. There I was, getting aggravated about the planes and they were working hard to save the forest and our house!

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there and reading my newsy post.  I hope all is well in your world and you are enjoying this winter/spring/summer weather. As always, I really appreciate your comments.

X ♥  O

Mare In Moonlight ~ SOLD

I've been very distracted from painting this past week. Last Friday afternoon, without any warning, my dear husband, Jerry, unexpectedly lost the sight of his right eye. He was just finishing up a job at the Borgata Casino Health Club in Atlantic City when his right eye went totally black / blind. He drove home, then I took him to the Hospital. His blood pressure was sky high and they thought he may have had a mini stroke. He never had high blood pressure before. After extensive testing, they still didn't know what was going on, so they took him to Will's Eye Hospital in Philadelphia for more tests. Basically, what they said was, Jerry had a stroke of the eye. We were at Wills Eye Hospital Retina Center all day on Monday for more tests. The doctors at Wills were very discouraging and said the loss of sight would most likely be permanent. I refuse to believe it though. On Friday, when it happened, the eye was totally black and each day, Jerry is starting to see more. Today he said he 'sorta sees' colors, so I believe that the doctor was wrong and he can recover his sight. Now our main cercern is getting his blood pressure under control so it doesn't blow out the other eye.

Moonlight Mare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SOLD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope all is well in your world, dear blog friends.

Have a great weekend!

X ♥  O